1988The competition cap forced the Lions to start the season with 22 new faces in their lineup, one of which was star quarterback Matt Dunigan who was acquired in a trade with Edmonton. Despite the large number of new players, the team jelled and finished the regular season with a 10-8 record. The club surged at the end of the season and entered the playoffs with momentum and being touted as the favourite to win the Grey Cup. The Leos managed hard-earned playoff victories over the Eskimos and Roughriders. That set the stage for the Grey Cup showdown in front of a crowd in excess of 50,000 in unseasonably mild but windy conditions in Ottawa. The lead changed hands several times during the game. B.C. drove to the Winnipeg seven-yard line in the dying minutes only to have Matt Dunigan's pass deflected by two defenders and intercepted to snuff out the drive, Winnipeg went on to win the contest 22-21.

You have been warned. This 9:32 clip shows highlights of the ill-fated 1988 Grey Cup game.

And for those of you who are still not convinced that my memory is correct, the score at time of Dunigan's interception was 22-19 for the Blue Bombers, and not 22-21 as many of you would think. It was only after Bob Cameron conceded a safety did the final score become that way. After Winnipeg conceded the safety, there was just under a minute for the Lions to get into field goal position, but they gave away the ball on downs. And as I said in the other thread, Bob Cameron punted into the wind much better than Lui Passaglia. Trevor Kennerd was 4-5 for field goals, while Lui was 1-3.

Last edited by Robbie on Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Robbie, you seem to have a bizarre fascination with this loss that transcends mere masochism.

Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.

Robbie wrote:And for those of you who are still not convinced that my memory is correct, the score at time of Dunigan's interception was 22-19 for the Blue Bombers, and not 22-21 as many of you would think. It was only after Bob Cameron conceded a safety did the final score become that way.

Don Whittman can confirm that as well.

Last edited by Robbie on Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

A news summary and box score of the 1988 Grey Cup. Again to reinforce the score at the time of Dunigan's second interception was 22-19 for Winnipeg and the Lions were driving for the lead instead of a tie. The game was deadlocked at 19-19 for most of the fourth quarter until Trevor Kennerd kicked his fourth FG of the game with 2:55 remaining to put the Blue Bombers ahead by 3.

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With a re-match of the 1988 Grey Cup game 23 years later, Matt Dunigan and Mike Riley have been asked to reflect that game.

I've mentioned many, many times and I hope for those who still have doubts, the score at the time was indeed 22-19 for Winnipeg when that fateful play occurred. The Lions were playing for the win, and not for the tie. Lui already had a FG miss and another blocked, and was heading towards a strong wind. Obviously when you gamble, sometimes you win and sometimes you don't. That time, it didn't work out. The Lions had one more chance after the Blue Bombers conceded a safety, but Tony Cherry became so undisciplined put the Lions back at their 30 and they turned the ball away on downs. Don't expect to win any games if you commit at least six turnovers in the second half.

He’d been asked to reflect on 1988, the last time the Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers — who will play for Earl Grey’s big silver cuspidor next Sunday — met in the Canadian Football League’s title game.

Dunigan’s high-octane Lions, 8-1/2-point favourites, lost 22-21 to the Sean Salisbury-led Bombers on a warm, windy evening at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park ... and yes, it stings to this day.

“It’s the woulda-coulda-shouldas that haunt you,” said Dunigan, reached on his cellphone Monday in Grey Cup city.

It is a personal and professional sorrow that has nagged at him for 23 years, ever since his potentially game-winning touchdown pass to Jan Carinci was tipped at the line of scrimmage and came to rest in the arms of Bombers defensive tackle Michael Gray.

"Every lineman's dream," said Gray, a former Lion.

B.C. had been on the Winnipeg seven-yard-line, trailing 22-19 with under two minutes left. A field goal would have tied it.

“Their defence played lights-out,” said Dunigan. “It’s the only play I remember, to be honest. I remember the play call. David Williams was one-on-one backside, and his guy fell down and David’s kind of walking in the end zone by himself. But I miss it, and the play unfolds, I try to knife it into Carinci, who had a step on his man on the crosser and Stan Mikawos gets his big mitt on the ball and ...

“It comes down to making plays. Winnipeg was one point better than we were that day, and it’s a hard one to swallow. We didn’t capitalize on our chances, and they tend to come back and bite you in the ass.”

Mike Riley, who coached that Winnipeg team — and the one that beat Edmonton 50-11 two years later at BC Place, the last time the Bombers won the Cup — remembers it somewhat differently.

“I’ve run that thing back in slow motion,” the 58-year-old said Monday from Corvallis, Ore., “and I’m pretty sure Michael Gray gets his hand on it, the ball pops up in the air, Bennie Thompson and [Carinci] collide at the goal line and Michael is running back to the ball and all three of them and the ball arrive at the same time, and Michael intercepts it and saves the game.

“And the lesson is, and I use that play to teach my team: defensive linemen rushing the passer and then running after the ball. It’s rare that something happens, but it changed everybody’s lives on that play.”

Riley, who’s been head coach at Oregon State for 11 years in two stints — interrupted by a three-year sentence as San Diego Chargers’ head coach and a couple of other NFL stops — recalls in detail the circumstances leading up to the Bombers’ victory in 1988.

“Great football game. I thought Bob Cameron might have won the game for us, with his punting,” he said. “We made some plays in the first half, offensively, and that was about it. Held on defensively, punted them out of good field position.

“And then we made a very controversial call, elected to concede a safety (ahead 22-19) instead of punting it out of there, and they had a big return (by Anthony Drawhorn) but I think [Tony] Cherry took a penalty on the play. So we held them, and survived.”

Salisbury was only quarterbacking the Bombers because their regular QB, Tom Muecke, had elbow problems in mid-season.

“Yup, Muecke came out of warmup one game, and [offensive coordinator] Bruce Lemmerman came to me five minutes before the game and said, ‘You better go get Salisbury, because Muecke’s out cold on the trainer’s table.’ His bursa sac on his elbow had swollen up and he’d come in to have it drained, and just passed out,” Riley said.

Salisbury — who went on to become an NFL backup and later an ESPN football commentator, before a Brett Favre-like lewd pictures scandal led to his dismissal a few years ago — did just enough the rest of that ’88 season to keep the job. He only completed 12 of 32 passes in the Grey Cup, “and I think all of them were in the first half,” Riley joked.

Dunigan and Riley agree on one thing: defence won the game, and usually does in the Grey Cup.

“When we won in ’91, even with the offensive team that we had in Toronto — Pinball [Clemons], Rocket [Ismail], D.K. Smith, Paul Masotti, David Williams — we had, I think, under 10 first downs,” said Dunigan.

“What I’m saying is that each game has its own circumstances. And oftentimes, from my experience, it’s defences that control those football games, and you just try to hang on and not hurt yourself offensively.”

“It’s always comforting to go into a Grey Cup confident in what your defence has done, and can do,” Riley said.

“In that era, we were the only 3-4 defence in the country, and had such good players at linebacker with James West and Greg Battle, Paul Randolph, and earlier there was Delbert Fowler, Darrell Patterson ... and Ty Jones, who was just the purrfect outside linebacker. He was with us the whole time, just a great, great football player.”

There was also a third-down gamble the Lions tried in the third quarter, deep in their end, that didn’t pan out, when Dunigan was stacked up at the line.

"It was a stupid decision and an insult to our defence," West would say later.

At the time, B.C. coach Larry Donovan seemed to suggest he had bad information from the spotter’s booth, and didn’t know the Lions had needed more than a yard.

Dunigan chuckled at that.

“Whatever. We should have made it,” he said. “You’ve got to give credit to Winnipeg for making the plays when they had to because, really, things weren’t going too well for them offensively, either.”

Matter of fact, both he and Riley say, the 2011 Bombers remind them a lot of the ’88 team. Not so hot on offence, but capable of great things defensively.

With the Lions finally avenging the Grey Cup loss to the Blue Bombers exactly 23 years later (November 27, 1988 - November 27, 2011), I guess it's less painful to show this hour-long clip that starts in the middle of the 2nd quarter shortly after Winnipeg scored its only TD to tie the game 14-14, and it continues to the end of the game.

While wondering just how the Lions lost the game, it was a combination of turnovers (at least 6 in the second half) and Lui's inability to punt effectively that gave Winnipeg good field position in the all important fourth quarter. And also with their outdoor stadium, Winnipeg was simply more experienced in playing cold, windy, outdoor environments.

When talking about the 1983 GC loss, it looks like Jacques Chapdelaine was labeled as the scapegoat because he missed a long and simple catch late in the fourth quarter.

But it looks like there is no scapegoat at all for the 1988 loss even though the following could qualify:

1. QB Matt Dunigan is still very popular and well liked for Lions fans for his short 2-year stint even though in the 1988 GC, he just couldn't quite deliver by only going 14-32 in passing and two devastating interceptions.

2. It's hard to criticize legend Lui Passaglia but in that windy game, his punting ability sucked big time compared to his counterpart Bob Cameron who captured Most Valuable Canadian honours. It was a very poor punt late in the fourth quarter that gave Winnipeg great field position and allowed them to make a FG to give them the 22-19 lead with 2:55 remaining. And Lui went only 1-3 for field goals, unlike Trevor Kennerd who completed four field goals.

3. The offensive line failed to do their duty on two key plays. In a 3 and 1 play in the third quarter Dunigan attempted a QB sneak which failed and forced them to give the ball on downs on their own 19 yard line. And later on in the quarter in a FG attempt the offensive line couldn't stop the Blue Bombers in blocking a field goal.

4. Cornerback Andre Francis was voted on to the 50-year anniversary dream team. He was assigned to cover James Murphy and failed to do that. With his Offensive MVP performance, he made 5 catches for 165 yards and a TD.

5. RB Tony Cherry scored a 14 yard TD in the first quarter, and made a 58 yard gain late in the fourth after Winnipeg took the 22-19 lead before that fateful play. At least the Lions defence stood its ground and forced Winnipeg to concede a single point. Cherry's rough play behavior was totally uncalled for and forced them back to their own 30 yard line for their last drive that went 3 and out.

6. I guess if there was any scapegoat, it was coach Larry Donovan who chose the less conservative play calling and it backfired.

The regular season opener has some uncertainties with several new starters, but the uncertainty was soon removed when new QB Dunigan, WR David Williams, and RB Tony Cherry proved to be a huge triple threat in the offence and the Lions dominated Winnipeg. Too bad they couldn't repeat the great performance four months later . Tony Martino was clearly no replace for Lui by missing a simple, routine FG attempt at the end of this clip.

Saskatchewan 36 at BC 32:

BC 22 at Calgary 40:

This was the last of a three game losing streak and the seventh in the season and a playoff berth was in doubt.

BC 24 at Hamilton 23:

Hamilton 21 at BC 25:

A pair of wins over Hamilton put the Lions back on track.

1988 WDSF - BC 42 at Saskatchewan 18:

After losing both regular season games to Saskatchewan, the Lions were ready this time and put on a good performance and spoiled the Roughriders first time in 12 seasons to host a playoff game. And this would be the last time Saskatchewan hosted a playoff game until 2007.

1988 WDF - BC 37 at Edmonton 19:

I stated several times before that along with the 2000 WDF, I consider this the most underrated and underappreciated Lions playoff win. Prior to this, the Lions never won a playoff game against Edmonton and never scored a playoff TD against them for that matter, and it didn't help that the game was played in the graveyard of Commonwealth Stadium. But that cursed was finally lifted and the Lions defence stood its ground by allowing only one TD while the Lions set the tone early in the game with a very long TD pass to Tony Cherry. A very close game with the Lions clinging on to 20-19 lead through the middle of the fourth quarter. A long pass to Scott Lecky gave the Lions a lot of momentum. Shortly afterwards, a quick TD pass to David Williams and then another to Eric Streater and a Lui Passaglia FG iced the game for the Lions.

Robbie wrote:I stated several times before that along with the 2000 WDF, I consider this the most underrated and underappreciated Lions playoff win. Prior to this, the Lions never won a playoff game against Edmonton and never scored a playoff TD against them for that matter, and it didn't help that the game was played in the graveyard of Commonwealth Stadium. But that cursed was finally lifted and the Lions defence stood its ground by allowing only one TD while the Lions set the tone early in the game with a very long TD pass to Tony Cherry. A very close game with the Lions clinging on to 20-19 lead through the middle of the fourth quarter. A long pass to Scott Lecky gave the Lions a lot of momentum. Shortly afterwards, a quick TD pass to David Williams and then another to Eric Streater and a Lui Passaglia FG iced the game for the Lions.

And here's the underrated, underappreciated 1988 WDF game in its entirety, in three parts.